When Morning Comes
by NikoSomething
Summary: House confronts his past. Read, if you'd like, and let me know what you think and I'll go from here. Possible House/OFC.
1. Chapter 1

**It's been a while since I've written anything. Hopefully, you guys will like it. This is set in a general time, where nothing really dramatic has happened on the show, (i.e. No bus crashes, or breakups, or makeups, etc.) It's a possible House/OFC. Just give it a chance if you'd like and let me know what ya think.**

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Her stomach turned at the sight of him climbing through her window. Bruised and bleeding, he landed somewhat gracefully onto her floor. With a little help from her and a few pillows, he righted himself and shivered a bit from the cold.

She never thought she'd see him like this. Never thought, in a million years, that he would look as broken as he does now. Her mind was racing, she needed to get blankets. Something to keep him warm.

He stared into her carpet, unmoving except for the bouts of shivers that overtook him every few seconds. He gratefully accepted the warmth of her comforter as she wrapped it around his shoulders.

She wanted to ask him so many questions, she just had no idea where to start. Deciding to let him do the talking, she sat down beside him with her legs crossed underneath her. Waiting, breathlessly until he decided to speak. It didn't come. He was still staring into the same place, so intensely she thought maybe he could see a hidden message written in her carpet that was for his eyes only.

Patiently, she sat there with him.

He slowly lifted his head to look up at her, but turned away quickly.

This was not a simple task for him. He never felt the need to get someone's help like this. He was independent and strong willed and…beaten. This time. He was beaten emotionally and physically. His head was throbbing and his muscles were aching. But he could just stare. Nothing came to his mind that he could say right now. There was nothing that could ease this blow.

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Present Day:

"What is on the docket today?" House asked all too cheerfully to his audience of fellows. He had gotten his old team back to join up with a couple from his new team. He was almost giddy because of the extra bait that was laid out before him. He could criticize so many more people now! Today was a good day.

Thirteen spoke up, holding a folder in her hand, "Female, 12 years old, fever—"

House stopped her, grabbing the folder from her hands "I can read, but I appreciate your fervor." He slammed down his own open notebook on the table, "I have written your duties by your names on this piece of paper. Think of it as a scavenger hunt and meet back up here with your results. The winner gets…well, the winner will get nothing but the feeling of accomplishment. This feeling can be used to make fun of your colleagues or can be more subtle than that, who am I to tell you what to do with your prize? Okay? Okay! Now get to it, STAT."

"Why are you in such a good mood?" Chase asked, annoyed already with this day.

Before he could get an answer, he read _Clinic Duty haha _by his name. He rolled his eyes and looked up to debate, but House was already gone. As everyone started to halfheartedly head off into their designated direction, Chase threw his hands up in exasperation and followed suit, mumbling profanities the entire way.

House smirked to himself from inside his office at how easy it was to get rid of all of them. Now, if they could figure the case out on their own, he could get a solid nap in.

He put his feet on top of his desk and closed his eyes briefly before a knock sounded on his door. "You guys are good, but not THAT good." He declared loudly.

Wilson peaked his head in. "You wanna do lunch?"

"You buyin'?"

"I always do."

House stood, reaching for his cane, "Then yes, yes I do."

As they finally sat down in their booth, House eyed Wilson closely. "What's this about?"

Wilson's eyes squinted, "What do you mean? I always buy you lunch? Usually, when people are hungry though, they tend to get food."

"Yes, you usually do buy my lunch but you always put up a fight when you do…It's not exactly normal for you to be this compliant."

"Eh, I figured I'd just skip that step of arguing. I was pretty hungry."

Wilson's explanation was enough for him. House bit into his Ruben with vigor and smiled speaking with his mouth full, "I appreciate your weak resolution then."

Wilson rolled his eyes, "Anyway, about your new patient. Word from Foreman is, her mom is fairly prestigious. She was a high rank in the military, I think she's retired now, brilliant, drop dead gorgeous…" Wilson's words faltered off as he imagined the woman. He hadn't seen her yet, but coming from Foreman, she must be a bombshell.

House rolled his eyes, making a big show of it, "So this is why you invited me here? To tell me you're going to bang the new patient's mother?"

Wilson nearly choked on his bite, "NO! I'm not going to bang her. I was just making conversation."

"Judging by that twinkle in your eye, I can tell you want to get up on it."

It was Wilson's turn to roll his eyes, "As romantic as that sounds, I was simply relating back to you the description that was given to me. I'm not going to go after her…or," Wilson winced as he said it, "Get on it. I just was making conversation."

House smirked a bit, he truly did love it when Wilson tried to defend himself. As if House didn't know that Wilson was on a fast track out of here to his patient's room to see this new "bombshell" as soon as he was done taking his last bite.

"Are you going to be a consultant on the case?" House smiled as he asked.

"No, I…I mean I could, if it were deemed necessary."

"I knew it! Come on, James, don't act like you aren't interested in her enough to want to buy her roses and feed her an expensive lobster dinner already. I can already feel your pick up lines being formulated in your head."

Wilson simply shook his head. "I'm not interested in taking a worried mother to dinner with me, while her daughter is in the hospital."

House dropped it, he was getting bored with the conversation. "Okay, then."

"Yeah, okay."

The conversation wasn't much after that, Wilson's brain was preoccupied. Maybe House was right and he was really trying to get in the poor woman's pants. He shook his head, he just wanted to see the woman. That's it.

As Wilson argued with himself, House and he both headed off in the different directions of their offices. House knowingly gave a glance back at Wilson, as he was trying to straighten his thoughts out. _Leave it to Wilson to be plagued by a woman he'd never met before. _

House decided that it was again naptime. This time, though he would surely be able to get a couple of hours in. His team was busy with their testing, the patient wasn't in any grave danger as of yet, and Chase had his place in the clinic. So there was definitely some time for a little R&R. Sometimes, he just couldn't help it, he loved his job.

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"What happened?" She asked quietly, staring at his bruised face. He still didn't make eye contact with her. He was staring at the same spot.

He simply shook his head.

"You can tell me. You can trust me."

That was it, he couldn't trust anyone. Not anymore. Not after this. Years of this. She was supposed to be a fun little fling. Someone he would have to up and leave again anyway. There wasn't supposed to be this. Not any of this. He felt like a damsel in distress, and it was pathetic.

"Please." She whispered.

He was still cold. Inside and out. This last bout with that monster was freezing him from the inside out. He had to get away from her prying. He figured it would just be a place to stay. He hadn't thought about the questions that would come from it. He hadn't thought about a story he could tell her to make him feel less pathetic. This isn't how any of this should have gone.

She wouldn't give up though. That's why he loved her.

Wait, love?

This was all too much, his head was throbbing even more. He had to just get out.

It was a bit too late now, though wasn't it?

"I fell." Was all he said, in a small voice. She almost didn't hear him.

She decided to leave it at that. He didn't want to talk about and she didn't want to push him away.

She reached out her hand and he accepted it. As he stood, she gave him a gentle hug, and led him toward her bed. It was a twin size so she just left it to him and found a comfortable position on the floor beside it. Maybe he would talk about it in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, Thank you very much for all the reviews! Much appreciated. So, here is chapter 2 :)**

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She awoke to the cracking of thunder outside her window. Jolted and alert, she looked up toward the bed where he had fallen asleep a few hours before. She sighed in relief to see that he was still there.

She had assumed he would be long gone by now. She knew he didn't want to discuss what had happened but she didn't know the severity of the situation. Seeing him completely unconscious and sleeping so heavily, she realized that this was probably the safest he's felt in a long while.

She frowned at the thought as she got up and went to the bathroom connected to her room. She did her business and as she stood washing her hands, she contemplated to herself in the mirror. She had so many questions to ask him but there was nothing she could do about how unresponsive he was being. He just sat and stared. Now he was asleep. Deep sleep. Like he hadn't slept for days.

Her curiosity got the best of her, she went to wake him up.

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"House!" A very loud, very in his office, Lisa Cuddy stood with her hands on her hips. She was staring at him when he jumped slightly as he awoke abruptly from his slumber.

"Geez, what's with the shrill voice?"

"You have a patient, and you are napping. I'm allowed to shriek when one of my doctors is not doing his damned job."

"Well, I hardly ever am doing my damned job. This time is no different, so you can say your piece and get out." His mood altered, suddenly he wasn't so cheery anymore. Maybe it was because his leg was so precariously placed and it was now throbbing. Along with his head after Cuddy decided to sing the song of her people.

"My piece is that the patient's mother would like to speak with you."

He was annoyed, "Why?"

"Because her daughter is being treated by you and your team. Because she loves her daughter. Because she doesn't trust a man who is sleeping while her daughter is dying. You can choose any one of these but the fact remains that she would like to have a word with you."

Really annoyed, "My team is taking care of everything. They have it all under control. I don't see the point of talking to her." He really didn't want to get into it with a desperate mother. He really didn't want to talk to anyone.

"Your team isn't her assigned physician. Go in there and speak to her, otherwise—"

"Otherwise, what? You'll fire me? Don't make threats you can't keep Cuddles." He rolled his eyes, and turned on his computer screen.

"I'm serious, House! If you don't go and talk to her I will send her to your office. You're going to explain what's going on with her daughter. She wants to hear it from the head of the case, not the team. It's that simple. She's very important to this hospital right now."

"Oh, I see, so she has money and you don't know how to say 'no'. Is that it? Or is it the fact that her daddy is a powerful man and she intimidated you with his money? Either way, there has to be money involved or you wouldn't be this obsessed." His mood dampened with every passing second.

"Get in there, now." She said simply. With a last glare, she left, slamming (attempting to slam) his door as she left.

He stood up heavily, downing a Vicoden as he did, and grabbed his cane. He was so tired of complaining patients and their _mothers. _He really didn't want to deal with this demanding woman. Especially if he was right and she was just as spoiled and money dependent as he pictured.

_Money can't buy you everything though_, he thought, _it can't cure your damned child. _

He unwillingly limped to the room that he knew one of his ducklings would be, to talk to a woman who he didn't want to see.

House took a deep breath before he entered the room. He was ready, alright. He was ready to battle this woman. He wouldn't be sincere, he didn't care about her or her child. He just wanted to get Cuddy off his heels and maybe leave for the day after obliging to her latest request.

As he opened the door, hoping to spew out something insulting, he saw Wilson, Foreman and Cameron. They were all holding files and discussing the situation, only to look up when he walked in the room. House rolled his eyes with as much animation as his face would allow. "You are pa-thet-ic." He said to Wilson.

Wilson smiled half-heartedly. He didn't think House would even set foot in this room. "I'm simply here as a consult."

House closed the door, walking closer to his team and best friend. "Simply pathetic."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Cameron piped from behind the girl's file she'd been holding.

"I'm here to speak with the mother of sick child." He spoke in a monotonous robot-esque voice.

Wilson chimed in, smirking, "So Cuddy sent you?"

House gave a small, almost unnoticeable nod. "Where is she?"

"She went to get coffee." Foreman said, filling the little girl's IV.

House grunted and turned to leave the room. He had better things to do than wait for her to come back from getting coffee.

"I'll be in my office." He mumbled, walking away from the room.

She probably wasn't that serious about meeting him anyway. He didn't have to sit there and wait with her child while she got coffee so leisurely. God! This woman made him angry. A money hungry, selfish woman was no woman he wanted to be a part of.

He forced the thought out of his mind, realizing how immature he was being. He was done. He was going back up to his comfortable chair and he was going to get some semi-comfortable sleep.

Just as he sat down in the best position, a knock came to his door. He sighed, heavily annoyed by the day's events. When Cameron let herself in, he wasn't surprised. Annoyed again, but not surprised.

"What?" He asked shortly.

"All the tests have come back and were at a loss. She just had a seizure. None of the tests were abnormal, though."

This piqued his interest a bit. Maybe he could just lose himself in the case.

He got up and grabbed his cane and followed Cameron to the linked office where the rest of his minions had planted themselves.

"So, everything's normal except for the seizure. What brought her into the hospital in the first place?" House asked, using his professional tone as he reached for a dry-erase marker.

"You didn't read the file?" Thirteen asked incredulously.

"Of course I didn't. Why would I?" House thought it was the most obvious thing in the world. He wrote 'seizure' on the board, "Now, what brought her into the hospital in the first place?"

Foreman pitched in, "She was dizzy and lightheaded at school, got home a bit later and passed out. When her mom went to wake her, her nose was bleeding. She woke up talking about some dreams she'd had then was unconscious again. This was about a year ago. After going to several different doctors about the issue reoccurring, none of them found anything wrong with her. So she brought her here."

House nodded, writing down snip bits of what Foreman was listing to him.

Just as House was about to ask another question, the door flew open with Cuddy on the other side. A female was with her and House had to swallow hard once he recognized the face.

While everyone was quite distracted, the beautiful woman beside Cuddy took long strides to place herself in front of House, she was within arm's length of him. He swallowed again, trying to will himself to say something.

Just as he opened his mouth, her fist connected with it. Hard.

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He weakly opened his eyes to see her standing over him. Confused for a moment, he got his bearings.

"I'm sorry to wake you. Okay, maybe not sorry but…can you please tell me what happened?" She asked, desperate and confused, she just wanted to take the hurt away from him.

He winced slightly as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. He rubbed his eyes and blurrily looked at her again. "I don't really want to talk about it." He mumbled. Almost to himself, but she heard. He could probably lip everything and she would still gather it. She had to know what was going on.

"Look, you came in through my window at 1 o'clock in the morning and you have no explanation as to why you are here. I can't really accept that." She shook her head, waiting to see his response. She wasn't trying to be pushy, she just needed some answers.

"I told you, I fell. I fell and it was cold and raining and your house was closer than mine and that is it."

Almost giving up, she sighed and turned to walk away from him. Maybe she'd just call his mom or something. She felt his hand grab her arm, pulling her back to him.

He sighed deeply. She knew he didn't want to talk about it, but then again, she really needed for him to come out and say what happened. "I told… Look, I told my dad that I was going to medical school." He shook his head, not wanting to discuss this. "We got into it. He was pretty serious about me joining the military and I can't bring myself to do it. Okay? That better?" his words were now icy, revealing a huge secret about himself made him just want to curl up into a ball, or jump out the window he climbed through.

"So he hit you?" She was in awe.

He nodded, weakly. "More like we hit each other. It was a fairly good fight. He locked me out."

She understood now. She understood a lot of things. All the times he'd been absent from school, the scar she once saw in the heat of the moment, the random bruises that he simply laughed off and didn't feel like explaining.

It hit her like a train.

"He hits you." She stated. She knew there was no question about it now.

"Don't." He said, threateningly, "Don't you dare say anything to anyone. This is not your fight or drama to deal with. Got it?"

She did. She understood.


End file.
